“He’s doing great, he’s a world leader… He’s by far the prophet on this issue (of global warming),” McAuliffe said, gazing out at the sun-drenched, panoramic Bay view from the San Francisco Grand Hyatt’s 36th-floor restaurant. “How do you change that? You go run for president. Why would he risk it?”

That is, I asked, why would Gore go up against a guy he once called “the greatest fund-raiser in the history of the universe” — McAuliffe himself? “He wouldn’t,” McAuliffe chuckled.

Here’s the plain truth as I see it: if Gore got into the race tomorrow, he would have an Emmy, an Oscar, the Nobel Peace Prize and international goodwill under his belt, but he also would be about $90 million and at least 30 percentage points behind Clinton. And most Nobel Prize winners are smarter than that.

BTW, the Clinton campaign’s home page today spotlights a picture of Gore with the caption, “Congratulations to Al Gore for his well-deserved Nobel Peace Prize. His dedication and tireless work have been instrumental in raising international awareness about global warming.”